Gov. Pat Quinn visits Rockford to sign Reclaiming First bill

ROCKFORD — A welcome tax increase might be the best way to describe the latest state law.

Chris Green

ROCKFORD — A welcome tax increase might be the best way to describe the latest state law.

Gov. Pat Quinn flew to town Saturday and put his signature on Senate Bill 1859, which allows Winnebago County and its municipalities to increase their hotel taxes by 2 percentage points.

The tax increase is cause for celebration because it will be paid by visitors staying in area hotels. The revenue will pay for upgrades to the two Sportscore complexes, the Indoor Sports Center and a new downtown indoor sports facility, all in hopes of attracting more regional and state tournaments.

The Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau expects the improvements to increase visitor spending by $16 million a year, create more than 400 jobs and generate $1.9 million in new tax revenue.

“The opportunity to host competitions and tournaments — that’s really big business in America, especially mid-America,” Quinn said. “We’re well-located, centrally located, right here in the middle of the country, to make sure that when there are competitions ... we want to make sure Rockford and Winnebago County are a point that everyone is looking for when they want to have a tournament.”

Soccer and softball pump millions of dollars into the local economy and support hundreds of jobs. But other cities have expanded or built athletics facilities that are drawing tournaments away from Winnebago County.

A coalition of leaders from Rockford, Winnebago County, Rockford Park District and Rockford Convention & Visitors Bureau, plus and others who worked for more than a year to advance the Reclaiming First initiative, stood behind the governor as he signed the bill at the main terminal of Chicago Rockford International Airport.

“Tourism, getting people from other places to come and visit, is really a very important indicator of jobs and economic wealth,” Quinn said. “That’s really what this bill is all about.”

Freshman Sen. Steve Stadelman co-sponsored the bill and called its passage a bipartisan effort.
“We need to keep doing what we do well,” the Rockford Democrat said, “and sports tourism is something this community has done very well. This is a very important day for us economically.”

Rep. Chuck Jefferson, D-Rockford, called any money spent on tourism a sound investment.

“For every dollar we spend on tourism, we generate nine additional dollars,” he said. “We don’t get that kind of revenue return anywhere else in Illinois.”

Brad Long, president of the Northwestern Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council, said the construction projects mean jobs for union laborers.

“Not a day goes by where I don’t get a phone call from a member who has been out of work and is struggling to put food on his table and asks, ‘What’s coming up next?’

“The last few years, it’s been tough to come up with an answer. This is a very happy day for me to spread word to our members that work is coming.”

Funding is in hand to turn the former Ingersoll building into an indoor sports complex. The riverside center would be able to host volleyball, basketball and other hard-court sports tournaments and events year-round.

A facelift is planned for Sportscore One in northwest Rockford. At Sportscore Two in Loves Park, more soccer fields are planned and the Indoor Sports Center will be expanded.

Mayor Larry Morrissey said the next step is for all parties involved to enter into an intergovernmental agreement and create a board, the Winnebago County Sports and Tourism Authority, which in part will determine how the new tax revenue will be divvied up.

“We’ve got a number of items before us,” he said, “but the most important step was taken care of today with the governor signing the bill.”